When the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) became law in 2002, it provided large sums of money to states for education. The program also had very strict performance requirements, including a 2014 deadline for all students to be proficient in mathematics and language arts. To provide some relief from the provisions of NCLB, the Obama administration is offering waivers to states that wish to apply. The program is called ESEA (Elementary and Secondary Education Act) Flexibility, but most refer to it as NCLB waivers, or just "waivers" for short. To date, 44 states have either requested waivers or have been approved to implement next-generation education reforms that go far beyond No Child Left Behind's rigid, top-down prescriptions. To receive one, states must address certain requirements, including adopting college-and-career-ready standards, focusing significant attention on the most troubled schools, and creating guidelines for teacher evaluations based in part on student performance.